by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - John Elway the player was rarely conservative, and he's proving to be the same as an executive.

Nearly eight months after making the biggest gamble in his new career as executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos, Elway has no regrets about pulling off the two biggest moves of the offseason: Luring free agent Peyton Manning to Denver, then trading Tim Tebow to the New York Jets for a pair of late-round draft picks only days later.

"I think it's worked out. If you look at whatthey're going through in New York now, you know?", Elway told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. "The risk was no one really knew about Peyton. There were so many unanswered questions. We went through the process, got all the information we can, talked to the doctors, and decided it was a risk worth taking. And it's worked out."

Indeed, only midway through the season, it appears the Broncos' gamble has paid off. Manning is a legitimate MVP candidate, having led the Broncos to four straight wins and a 6-3 record heading into Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers. With another victory, Denver would open a three-game lead over its biggest division rival.

Meanwhile, the Jets are constantly answering questions about when they'll start Tebow ahead of struggling incumbent Mark Sanchez, a scenario all-too-familiar in Denver. The Jets have lost three in a row, and the offense failed to score in Sunday's 28-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Jets coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano have publicly mulled expanding Tebow's role in the offense, but he's remained mired in a supporting role to this point.

Elway said Tuesday that he doesn't want to forget the excitement Tebow brought to Denver and its fan base last year when Tebow sparked a dramatic run to the AFC West title. But moving on from Tebow and back to a more traditional quarterback was the right move, even if it meant at least temporarily angering fans who had fallen hard for Tebow during the Broncos' second-half surge in 2011.

"It was a tough situation," Elway said, "There are Tebow fans and there are Broncos fans. My responsibility is to the Broncos fans, and my responsibility is to (owner) Pat Bowlen and what he wants to do, and that's win championships. I base all my decisions on that.

"It's difficult not to get personal, because every kid that comes in, it's his dream to play. But the bottom line is, my responsibility that Pat's given me, is to give him the best opportunity to hoist that trophy."

Elway said the Jets' wildcat plan for Tebow was not going to work for the Broncos.

"With Peyton being here, we couldn't have two different offenses," he said. "We couldn't have a backup quarterback with a totally different offense. We wanted to get back to where everyone was learning the same offense."